Kristoffer Polaha Instagram – Been a while, thought I’d say hi.
Happy Labor Day, which has taken on a brand new meaning for me this year.
I got my big break as an actor by staging the entire Eugene O’Neil cannon over the course of several years with @eugeneoneill1 (for free) and a lot of O’Neill’s early works revolved around people who wanted a fair shake at the American Dream and considered joining the radical IWW and or the more conservative AFL labor unions.
Unions have a long history and the shop owners are often at odds with them, but being a union man AND a shop owner I find myself in unique moment in history.
What we, as entertainers, provide is certainly not a “need.” We don’t provide grain or raw materials to push industry forward, but what me make – our stories- are a “want” which, when consumed, pushes our souls forward. You want them and you (we) will always want them. We want our stories so we can escape the hardness of life, if even for only two hours in a darkened theater filled with strangers, or over the course of a season on TV, or to disappear into a book for a few weeks. Story tellers aren’t going anywhere because people want to be told stories, to escape, to dream, to learn from each other and to root for each other, and to be inspired.
How we get our stories doesn’t really matter, stories will find a way. I could drive a bus to your town, put on a play, earn my wages, and go on to the next, like the traveling minstrels did ages ago.
But we have a beautiful system in place, we make a story and you can see it from anywhere in the world, a global market, and brought to you at a reasonable price! And for the first time in the history of this modern business of storytelling, our way of life is being disrupted in a way that is breaking the back of the business and the hearts of your story tellers; the men and women who make your shows and movies, thousands of skilled laborers who work hard for a decent living.
Sure, times change, but we have always shared the take at the door. If you tell the story, you get paid for it. Simple as that. Syndication worked, fair wages for base pay works, the right to your image works, the right to own your voice works.
@sagaftra | Posted on 05/Sep/2023 00:21:56
